The watering can, visible at the left, was a standard fixture in ballet rehearsal rooms; water was sprinkled on the floor to keep dust from rising when ballerinas danced. Degas also used the watering can as a visual pun: its shape is mimicked by that of the dancer at the right. This painting was shown in the 1877 Impressionist exhibition. Degas gave it to the collector Henri Rouart as a replacement for an earlier work, now lost, which the artist altered and accidentally destroyed. Mrs. Havemeyer purchased it from Rouart's estate sale in 1912 for $95,700, a record price for a work by a living artist.

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